When small children are present in a household it is frequently desirable to prevent them from fully closing doors in order to keep them from accidentally locking themselves within a room or to keep them from injuring their fingers or hands as the door closes. Devices known heretofore that are capable of preventing the door from closing are either mounted over the top of the door or attached to the doorknob. The devices that mount over the top of the door are inconvenient because they must be removed whenever it is desired to fully close the door. Mounting and removing this type of device can be difficult for shorter persons because they may be unable to reach the top of the door. The devices that mount to the doorknob are unsuitable because doorknobs can be reached by young children and thus can be removed by them, thereby defeating the purpose of using the device in the first place.
Thus, there exists a need for a door safety device that can be easily installed at a desired height anywhere along the door or wall and that can be moved between operative and inoperative positions without removal from the door.